I have been on a hiatus for a week or so – my apologies. Very busy with the new site design.

I ran across a quick, light read from Forbes on ways to improve your public speaking persona. As a speech and communications major in college, I always loved to give speeches. It’s such a rush! Not everyone feels the way I do, however. I’ve read that most people would rather have their finger cut off than to give a presentation.

For those with a little stage fright, perhaps these 28 tips will help you out. Here are a couple of my favorites:

"The dumbest thing you can do is chastise an audience when you’ve tried humor that’s failed." – Jim Gill, Bryan Cave law firm

"Self-deprecation is always part of my speech. It helps the audience know we’re all in the same boat." – Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President

"I’ve found that when speakers talk about what they know, it’s arrogant. But when they talk about what they’ve learned, it’s humble and a format of great story-telling" – Roy Spence, GSD&M Advertising

"Layoff the numbers and facts as much as possible. Attract with emotion. Lead with the heart." – M. Steven Cox

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